Early Childhood News

(Pre-Kindy to Year 2)

Every kid loves play dough! But apart from being fun, it is also a rich tool that supports various aspects of early childhood development. Playing with play dough allows children to explore their creativity, develop fine motor skills, and enhance their cognitive abilities. 

Manipulating play dough helps with fine motor development involves squishing, rolling, flattening, and moulding, actions that help develop the small muscles in children's hands and fingers. These fine motor skills are crucial for tasks such as writing, buttoning clothes, and using utensils. The repetitive movements of shaping and moulding play dough also improve hand-eye coordination and precision.

Playing with play dough also helps children understand basic concepts of shapes, sizes, and textures. It introduces them to fundamental scientific principles, such as cause and effect (e.g., squishing a ball flattens it) and changes in states of matter (e.g., dough hardening when left out). These experiences lay the groundwork for early math and science skills. Play dough also allows them to let their imagination run wild as they create different animals, people and objects. 

Another important benefit of playdough the sensory experience it offers. Using play dough, children explore different textures, pressures, and temperatures, enhancing their sensory processing abilities. Adding scents or glitter can further stimulate their senses, making the play even more engaging and enjoyable.

Making playdough can be really fun too! Perhaps on the holidays you and your child could make playdough. Split up your batch and experiment adding glitter, different food colouring and food flavour essences to your playdough. Food flavour essences are only a few dollars each and found in the baking section of supermarkets.  Adding small items such as toy bugs, cars, beads and flowers can also make it a new learning experience! 

Playdough Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose white flour

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 cup + 2 tablespoons table salt

3-4 tablespoons cooking oil canola, coconut, etc.; start with 3 and if the dough is a little dry, slowly work in a little more. Coconut oil smells good too! 

3 cups hot water

Optional: Food colouring, glitter, food flavour essence

Instructions

Add the flour, cream of tartar, salt, and 3 tablespoons cooking oil to a large pot. 

Whisk together. Add water and whisk until smooth. 

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the dough forms a soft ball. Be sure not to overcook--it will be too dry. 

Remove from heat and then scrape together the mixture into a ball. 

Place in a Ziploc bag or cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool slightly.

Divide into portions and use food coloring to color as desired (if you want to make it all the same color, add the food coloring with the water.) For very vibrant colors, use more than you think you'll need. 

When done playing with the dough, store in airtight containers or Ziploc bags. If the dough does begin to dry out, simply add a few drops of water!